


Broken Heartbeats

by MelyndaR



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-07-16 22:49:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7287790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelyndaR/pseuds/MelyndaR
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Peggy is threatened with deportation, she asks Jack for help when she realizes she has no other option. But at the end of the day, if may be that the solution isn't such a terrible one after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title inspired by Christina Perri’s “Distance.”  
> "I’ll give you everything I am/All my broken heartbeats until I know you understand"

“ _Chief_ Thompson, if you would just _listen_ to me-“

“I don’t have time to listen to you today, Carter, I have things to do. The Jefferson case is-“

“The Jefferson case is exactly what we’re talking about,” Peggy replied sharply. “You gave me the lead on that case, and you _know_ I’m headed in the right direction with it. _Why_ do you keep sending Agent Sharp out to cover my leads?”

“Chief Thompson? Agent Carter?” Agent Lowe asked, half-sheepish as he stuck his head in the door of Chief Thompson’s office, looking troubled.

“ _What_ , Agent Lowe?” Jack asked in irritation, eyes swinging from Carter to the other agent.

“There’s someone here to see you, Agent Carter,” the other man answered apologetically. “From… the Office of Immigration?”

Peggy frowned, as did Jack, and the woman asked curiously, “Did he say what he wanted?”

Agent Lowe shook his head. “Just that he needed to see you immediately.”

Jack dismissed her with a wave of his hand, muttering, “Take him into one of the interrogation rooms and talk to him if it’s that’s important.”

Peggy nodded, but shot Jack a look over her shoulder as she left the office, declaring, “We’ll continue this conversation later.”

Jack rolled his eyes and shut the door all but in her face, not bothering to answer.

Peggy took a deep breath, purposely regaining her equilibrium before she turned from Chief Thompson’s office and marched towards the one man in the room that she didn’t recognize.

“Agent Carter, I presume?” the man asked, not smiling even though Peggy did.

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m Timothy Cantrell, with the Office of Immigration.”

“Yes; Agent Lowe said you wanted to speak with me?” she asked, still confused as to what exactly this man could want with her. “The chief said that you and I could relocate to an interrogation room to talk, if you’d rather.”

Mr. Cantrell nodded, still looking disapproving as he said, “That would probably be for the best.”

“Is there something wrong?” Peggy asked as she led the way to the interrogation room.

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

Peggy let her expression voice the unasked question as she opened the door to the room and gestured him in. He let the door close behind them before he handed her the manila folder he’d been carrying.

She looked down at it, her expression creasing in confusion as she scanned its contents. “Mr. Cantrell,” she said honestly, looking back up at him. “I don’t understand. What is this?”

“ _Agent_ Carter,” the man replied more than a little scathingly. “Do you understand how your recent involvement in the Howard Stark scandal looks to the rest of the world?”

Hearing his _tone_ , Peggy went on the defensive, replying, “Do tell me, Mr. Cantrell.”

“You committed treason against the United States,” the man declared flatly.

“That’s ridiculous!” Peggy snorted. “Howard Stark was declared innocent of all charges!”

“But he wasn’t, not at the time that you… got in cahoots with him.”

Peggy looked at the man in disbelief, then lowered her eyes to rapidly scan the file in her hands again. She looked back up at him, very firmly keeping any emotions from showing as she asked, “Why are you here? What are you trying to tell me?”

There was a decidedly satisfied gleam in the man’s eyes as he declared, “Agent Carter, you are being deported back to your native England, based on charges of treason against the United States of America.”

* * *

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life!” Howard Stark howled, dropping into a chair in his Los Angeles sitting room.

“Yes, of course, but is there anything you can _do_ about it?” Peggy reiterated, sitting down across from him.

Jack added even more sharply, “Because we did not fly all the way out here just to hear you state the obvious. You got her into this mess; you get her out.”

“Honestly,” Howard looked up at the blond man with too-cool eyes. “I’m not sure why you came here to begin with.”

“Me neither,” Peggy added distractedly. “I told him it was unnecessary. But that’s neither here nor there. Howard, I need your help. I have thirty-six hours before I’m on a plane to London, and, God help me, I don’t want to go!”

“Of course you don’t,” Howard replied, thinking through the problem.

“Then you can help her?” Ana Jarvis asked from the sitting room doorway.

Howard, Peggy, and Jack all turned to look at her, and found Mr. Jarvis and Daniel standing a step behind her, stress lining his features.

The same stress was showing on every face in the house, really, but Daniel at least tried to make a small joke, offering as he walked into the room, “Did you really miss LA this much, Peggy? You only went back to New York a couple months ago; you didn’t have to go to such drastic measures to come see us again.”

Peggy offered a weak smile, but Jarvis objected, “Deportation is no laughing matter, Chief Sousa.”

“That’s why no one’s laughing,” Howard said, eyeing his butler.

Jarvis bit back a sigh and glanced away. Jack looked between him and Howard before he told Jarvis, “For the record, I don’t like it either.”

“Then what are we going to do about it?” Daniel asked.

Peggy questioned, “Any ideas, Howard?”

“I don’t know,” the genius answered, spreading his hands with a genuinely helpless expression.

“You have to have _some_ idea,” Jarvis said a little irately. “I happen to know for a fact that you learned deportation laws inside and out a few months ago.”

“Almost a year ago, but, yes, I did.”

 _Because of the threat I made against Ana_ , Jack understood instantly, but what he said was, “Then tell us what to do to get my agent out of this.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” Stark asked, tone sharp in his own right. “She’s being deported based on criminal offences-“

“Which you can make go away!” Daniel snapped.

“Not quick enough to keep her here! Not soon enough to keep her from having to leave. I can get her back stateside later, but the only thing that we could do quick enough to keep her here is-“ Howard cut himself off with a roll of his eyes, declaring, “-Is something that would never happen.”

“I think I’ll be the one to determine that,” Peggy said brusquely. “What is it?”


	2. Chapter 2

Howard eyed her with the barest touch of amusement – and definite sarcasm – in his gaze as he replied, “You could get married.”

“Get married?” Peggy repeated dumbly.

“To an American citizen,” Howard expounded. “But you and he would have to get the marriage license in the next twelve hours, then hold it for twenty-four hours before you got married. And that’s assuming that you can find a ‘he’ to marry.” He shrugged. “See why it won’t work?”

Jack turned towards Daniel, who was still standing near the doorway, starting, “Sousa, if-“

“Violet,” Peggy blurted hollowly.

“What?” Jack asked, turning back to the woman sitting on the couch beside him. “Who’s that?”

“His fiancée, so stop that sentence before it starts, please and thank you.” She looked to Howard, demanding, “Are you sure this is the only option?”

“It’s the only _immediate_ fix, yes,” Howard answered, looking around at the others in disbelief as he said, “But surely we’re not actually discussing this for real?” He focused on Peggy, asking, “Are we?”

“I don’t see that we have any other choice,” she replied simply.

“Well, if not Chief Sousa… then who else?” Ana asked hesitantly.

It was Howard who pointed out bluntly, “The only men you trust that much are already in this room, Peg.”

Panicked realization flared in Jarvis’s eyes, and he said quickly, “Then perhaps, Mr. Stark, you could-“

“Don’t start that sentence either,” Peggy ordered the butler with a sharp glare.

Jarvis moved to stand in front of the couch where Peggy and Jack were sitting, asking sharply, suddenly in a fiercely protective mood thanks to what they were discussing, “Then who is your other option?”

Peggy looked down, studying her hands as she took a fortifying breath before explaining, “No offence to you, Howard, but you are not the type of man to be able to… grasp the concept of an… a… _marriage_ … of necessity.”

“We’re discussing this seriously now?” Howard asked cautiously. “Who, Peg? Who the heck are you thinking _you_ could actually stand to… to _marry_?”

For once, Howard’s brain seemed to be moving sluggishly. Jack’s wasn’t. He swore as the realization hit him suddenly. “You’re out of your mind, Carter,” he declared flatly.

“Thank you!” Jarvis said.

Stark asked again, “Who are we talking about here?”

“Blonds,” Jarvis replied, heaving a great sigh as he turned to his boss. “We are discussing blond-haired, blue-eyed-“

“That is your type, Peg.”

“- _And_ completely without morals?” Jarvis finished.

Jack glared up at the other man, asking suddenly, sharply, “What exactly do you think I am?”

Jarvis stared for a second before replying, “You are a worthless rat, and a good number of other descriptive words that I haven’t used since my time in the service. Is that a plain enough answer for you? Because I’d be more than happy to elaborate.”

“Look, if this is still about that interrogation threat thing-“

“ _Shut up!_ ” Peggy shouted, her head dropping down into her hands with a defeated air. _How had she gotten to this point so quickly, so suddenly?_ “Would the both of you at least _pretend_ to have the sense God gave a goose, and let me _think_?”

“You cannot possibly be thinking about this with any sort of seriousness,” Jarvis objected.

“I don’t see that I have a choice at the moment,” Peggy answered frankly, fighting down a wave of horror at the very idea. Sucking in a deep breath, she turned and addressed Chief Thompson. “What are your thoughts on the idea?”

“I told you. I think you’re crazy – I think the whole idea is crazy.”

Daniel murmured to Jack from across the room, “But if it’s the only choice… the only thing that could stop this in its tracks…”

Jack raked a hand through his hair, ruining the styling with one movement. “I know.”

“But would you agree to _do it_?” Peggy pressed. “Purely as a business arrangement, of course. A mere… favor of sorts.”

She made it sound so simple… but, dear God help them, he knew instinctively that it would be nothing of the sort. Still, he somehow found himself saying, “Yes, if it can keep you with the SSR, I’d do it.”

Silence descended for a second, but it was Daniel who broke it by saying, “Well, if we’ve got that settled, it sounds like you two should probably go get a license as soon as possible so this can all be made official as soon as possible.”

Jack and Peggy both regarded the other again. They both looked like they were facing a guillotine – all the same, they stood up, and Jack offered Peggy his arm, something wry and nearing disgust written across his features as he said dryly, “Well, let’s get this over with, shall we, fiancée?”

Daniel sighed, Howard shook his head, and as Ana showed Jack and Peggy out, Jarvis muttered, “Has anyone – _anyone_ – in this house heard of ‘marry in haste, repent at leisure?’”

“It’s not going to be a… a _real_ marriage, J,” Howard said, trying to be a reassuring voice of reason.

 _Why then_ , he wondered, looking at Jarvis’ and Sousa’s faces, _did the other two look so unsure of that?_

* * *

 

A minute later, Ana hurried back into the room, kissing Edwin quickly as she said, “I’m going with Agent Carter and Chief Thompson.”

“Why?” Jarvis asked.

“Miss Carter asked me to accompany them.”

He repeated, “Why?” Ana shrugged, not having a clue, so Edwin stifled a sigh and agreed, “Very well.”

She gave him another kiss and a smile, trying to cheer him up, but got only the weakest attempt at a smile in return. Glancing at Mr. Stark for any further clues as to what her husband was thinking – and finding none – she mentally shrugged it off, and hurried into the car with the newly-engaged couple.

“You know,” she suggested as they drove to the courthouse, “I’m sure Mr. Stark would more than happily give you the use of any of his properties to host a wedding on if you’d like.”

“It’s not going to be anything big,” Peggy said firmly.

“And just how much of a wedding do you think this can be made into within – what? – twenty-seven hours?”

Ana arched an eyebrow in his direction, even though he couldn’t see her expression from where he was sitting in the passenger seat with her being in the backseat. “Don’t underestimate my husband and me, Chief Thompson.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Your husband,” Peggy informed Ana flatly as she drove through the LA traffic. “Wants nothing to do with this…” she suppressed a full-body shudder. “Marriage arrangement.”

“He will if I convince him too,” Ana replied with sweet certainty.

Chief Thompson replied on a dark sigh, “I’m not sure even a wife’s powers of persuasion extend that far, Mrs. Jarvis.”

“That’s because you don’t know what it is to have a wife,” she answered perkily, determinedly ignoring the pensive mood the other two were in. “Yet, I mean.” Both people in the front flinched, and Ana let silence descend for a second before she said suddenly, “I’m not stupid, Chief Thompson.”

“Meaning what?” he asked, actually turning around in the seat to look at her this time.

She tilted her head to the side, studying him as she said frankly, “I don’t know exactly _what_ you said to my husband, or when you said it, but I’m almost certain I know _who_ you threatened.”

“No offense, but you don’t know me, Mrs. Jarvis.”

“No, I don’t, but I know my husband like the back of my hand. There are few things people can do to garner such dislike from him – and I think you’ve done at least two of those things.”

“What do you think I did?” Jack asked with a dry faux-curiosity.

“I think…” Ana folded her hands innocently on her crossed knees a she spoke slowly. “That you threatened someone he loves, and, more than that, I think you’ve acted like a misogynist _pig_ towards someone he sees as an equal.”

Peggy nearly choked, and Jack lost a split-second being surprised at her accuracy before he muttered coolly, “ _His_ equal, maybe.”

Ana’s smile thinned as she asked, “Is that supposed to be an insult? Because I’m pretty sure Edwin would take it as a compliment.”

Jack faced forward, declaring, “That’s his problem.”

“Miss Carter,” Ana said a little too loudly as she changed the subject. “How many guests should we expect?”

Peggy asked, “At what?”

“At the wedding that I’m putting myself in charge of planning.”

“Ana…” Peggy started to object warningly.

Ana shot back a little sharply, “Miss Carter.” There was a beat of silence and then the Jew said softly, “I think this could be helpful, in a way.”

“How?!” Jack and Peggy chorused.

Ana merely requested, calmly, “Trust me, please.”

Peggy sighed, Jack threw up his hands with a glare like he knew he’d been defeated, and Ana smiled just a little. So she was wary too, but doing this anyway. And wasn’t that what the two in the front seats were doing too?

Peggy said wearily, “Let’s just do it in the courtyard of Howard’s place.”

“Good,” Ana nodded at the one decision made, and asked again, “How many should we expect to be there?”

Peggy drummed her fingers against the steering wheel, counting as she thought aloud. “Justice of the peace, me, Jack, you, Mr. Jarvis, Howard – who will doubtlessly find a plus one – Daniel, Violet, and Rose,” she listed, glancing at Jack as she asked, “Do you have anyone else to add?”

“Not on such short notice.”

“So ten,” Ana tallied. “Unless you’d like me to add Bernard to the guest list?” she asked innocently.

“That depends on whether or not Mr. Jarvis can finally corral him,” Peggy replied tartly, a small smile having been coaxed out of her.

Ana giggled, then hummed, admitting, “Better not add the flamingo, then.”

“Stark has a flamingo?” Jack asked incredulously.

“A whole menagerie, actually,” Ana answered distractedly, already ten steps ahead as she mentally prepared a list of things to do within the next twenty-five hours.

She was starting to realize that she wasn’t going to get much sleep if she was going to pull this off – even with Edwin helping her. Not that any of them were going to be sleeping very much, for that matter… even if their reasons for it were different.

“Here we are,” Peggy said suddenly, a deep sigh escaping her as she pulled up in front of the courthouse.

The pall settled back over the trio more so than ever as they climbed out of the car and went inside. Ana stayed within hearing distance, but otherwise out of the way, as Chief Thompson and Miss Carter went up to the desk to apply for their license. It was almost cringe-worthy to watch them talk to the bubbly clerk issuing them the piece of paper. She apparently liked her job – and liked talking to the – usually – happy couples about their upcoming nuptials.

The two agents seemed to be no exception.

“Are you getting married tomorrow, then?” the woman asked with a smile.

“Yes, ma’am,” Peggy answered.

“Where at?”

“The house of a friend.”

“Will it be a big wedding?”

“No,” Jack said, apparently getting more and more on edge with the conversation.

Peggy covered for him by adding with a sudden smile, “We wanted to keep it small and private. A more… intimate ceremony.” Jack shot Peggy a look and slid another piece of paperwork over to her, which she signed. “We’ll need to talk to the justice of the peace while we’re here,” she commented offhandedly, and the clerk was more than happy to point them in the proper direction.

The agents started off, and Ana stayed at her safe distance, just close enough to hear Peggy say with a touch of reprimanding in her tone, “She enjoys her job, Jack; at least allow her that.”

“Carter, shut up.”

Ana stifled a sigh for Miss Carter’s sake, reminding herself firmly that this could still work out just fine – even for the best, in the end.

* * *

“A cake-“

“-Is something of which the cook is perfectly capable.”

“Flowers-“

“-Are in abundance in Mr. Stark’s gardens.”

“Seating-“

“-For all of seven to ten people can easily be found throughout the house and relocated for the _occasion_.”

“A dress-“

“-Is completely unnecessary, given the circumstances!”

“The guests-“

“-Have all been notified of the upcoming apocalypse.”


	4. Chapter 4

“ _Edwin_ ,” Ana complained, whipping towards him as she stopped her pacing. “Please _try_ to be helpful.”

“I am trying,” Edwin replied levelly. “I’m not saying ninety percent of what I’m thinking, believe me.”

Ana sighed, walking over to take his hand. “I know this is difficult – it is for all of us – but imagine how hard it must be on Miss Carter and Chief Thompson!”

“I know,” Edwin sighed. “That’s exactly the point, though. If it’s hard now, how difficult is it going to be once they’re actually married? I’m worried for her.”

Secretly, a part of Ana agreed, but – “I’ve chosen to be optimistic. Love doesn’t _have_ to happen automatically. Maybe they’ll fall for each other slowly.”

He deadpanned, “Maybe they’ll kill each other before they’ve had the chance.”

Ana straightened her shoulders and refused to admit just how likely she was beginning to think that option, too, might be.

* * *

In the end, Ana got everything that she’d imagined for the event – it had been left entirely up to her, because, as it had been so frankly put by Peggy, “No one else cares enough” – save for flowers and a dress. Peggy refused to carry a bouquet, neither she nor Jack wanted anyone to stand up with them, and, equally, Peggy had decided she wouldn’t purchase new clothing for the affair. It was a fight enough, Ana had found, to get anyone to dress up for the thing.

As much as she loved him, she was thoroughly annoyed with even Edwin by the time the actual wedding took place.

It was then that she decided that Miss Carter and Chief Thompson had been wise not to have anyone stand up with them. Even from where she was sitting in the semi-circle of seven surrounding the bride, groom, and justice of the peace, she could tell that reciting the vows was unsettling for Chief Thompson at best, and Miss Carter seemed to have… gone into autopilot, so to speak. It was nearly painful to watch.

But then it was over, and she could go back to convincing herself that all would be well in the end.

At what was passing for the reception – a simple milling around Mr. Stark’s pool – Mr. Stark himself had grabbed a whole bottle of scotch at the first opportunity and gone off somewhere with his date. The justice of the peace had disappeared as soon as his job was done. And Ana wasn’t sure what to make of the seven who remained.

Rose and Violet were standing together, nibbling on cookies that Violet had brought, Chiefs Sousa and Thompson were talking in low voices on the other side of the pool as Peggy, and Miss Carter herself was sitting with her feet dangling absently in the pool water. As Ana watched, Edwin took a cup of tea over to Miss Carter and crouched at her side, trying to engage her in conversation. He didn’t seem to be having much luck.

Her mouth tipping down into a one-sided frown, Ana made a plate of cookies, shooting a smile towards Rose and Violet in the process. Then she went inside, collected a bottle of bourbon and seven glasses, and went back outside with it, pouring two glasses and collecting her plate of cookies before she headed for Miss Carter and Edwin.

She smiled at the two of them, suggesting to Edwin, “Maybe you ought to go pour glasses for the rest of our guests?”

He stood, glancing pointedly, worriedly, down at Peggy over her head, and Ana nodded at him with a gentle smile. “I’ve got this,” she promised.

So he walked off, and Ana moved the cup of tea he’d left on the ground near Miss Carter, instead handing the other woman a glass of bourbon as she sat down beside her.

“I thought bourbon was more the order of the day,” she murmured a mimic of the old line, and Miss Carter smiled a little at her as she accepted the drink.

“Thank you,” she replied, sipping it before she let her cheek drop heavily onto Ana’s shoulder – more tactility than she usually allowed herself by far.

Ana sipped at her own drink, thinking through what exactly she wanted to say. “You do realize that this marriage saves you, of course.”

“Yes,” Peggy replied, taking a longer drink this time. “Of course. I just… a marriage of convenience like this-!”

She let the thought trail off, and Ana curled her legs to the side, taking a sip of her own bourbon before she asked, “But what if it isn’t?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“What if it doesn’t have to be?” Ana asked. “A marriage of convenience, I mean. What if – despite the fear and uncertainty that you’re feeling right now – things turn out all right in the end? What if… you were to find yourself falling in love with Chief Thompson?”

Miss Carter snorted at the very idea.

Ana smiled with a sad sort of amusement as she remarked, “Ridiculous idea, isn’t it?”

“Certainly.”

“Certainly,” Ana repeated, only to add, “You know... I knew a girl once. A Jewish girl during the beginning of the war.” Miss Carter went dead still against her shoulder, and Ana continued her story, knowing she was fooling no one as to who this girl was. “As a Jew, she was in a good deal of trouble simply because of who and what she was. And then the girl met a soldier.”

“A British gentlemen, I’m sure,” Miss Carter interjected.

“He was, yes… but the girl was still scared of him.”

“What on earth for?” Miss Carter asked in surprise.

“They barely knew each other,” Ana replied with a grin. “And as much of a gentleman as he was, as much as he claimed to love her… she didn’t know him well enough to be able to judge whether or not that was true. She simply had to take his word for it.”

“But everything that he did for her-“ Peggy began in surprise.


	5. Chapter 5

“Everything that he did was for a good cause, yes,” Ana agreed. “But it was all illegal too, therefore those very things are exactly what gave her pause, in part. She was desperate to leave her homeland and the trouble that came with it, and she was willing to go with the stranger so that she could save herself… but she was still unsure of what the two of them felt for one another. Do you want to know what happened to them – the terrified, persecuted girl and her soldier husband?”

“They lived happily ever after forever and ever.” Peggy declared flatly, toying with the hateful ring on her finger before she sat up straight and said sharply, “Ana, I _know_ this story!”

Ana smiled, kind and thoughtful. “No, you see the _end result_ of that story.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning that no marriage, no matter how idealistic it may look, is easy. Everyone has arguments, everyone gets annoyed with their spouse, and everyone has uncertainties. In that you and Chief Thompson are certainly not alone.”

“You said you didn’t know Mr. Jarvis when you married him…”

“Not as well as I should’ve, to be giving him my life, no.”

“But… Ana, I know Chief Thompson. He’s… not a good man.”

“He does bad things for, by and large, good reasons,” Ana corrected. “Which was exactly my point. You’ve seen the side of him that I first saw of my own husband – not the good side, but the ruthless one. That doesn’t mean that the good side isn’t there, doesn’t even diminish it, in my opinion. It just means that there was a time when _good_ wasn’t the first word that came to mind when I thought of him.”

“And you think that can happen with Jack?” Peggy asked skeptically.

Ana nodded a little, commenting, “Everyone’s different in their own homes, and domesticity changed Edwin and I both. Maybe it will do the same for you and your chief.”

“He’s not my anything,” Peggy muttered.

“He’s your husband.” At that, Peggy downed the rest of her bourbon in one quick swallow, and Ana objected, “Come now, Miss Carter; be a little optimistic.”

“I think optimism might be waiting for me at the bottom of a second glass of bourbon,” Peggy replied dryly as she handed Ana her glass to refill.

* * *

Edwin kept an eye on Chiefs Thompson and Sousa as he filled glasses of bourbon for them. When he’d first read Miss Carter’s file, he’d seen mention of very little family – but among them, she’d had a brother, who had died in 1940. Today… Today Edwin thought he just might have to do some filling in for big brother Michael Carter.

Face set with determination, he marched over to the chiefs with three glasses of bourbon balanced in his hands. Handing Chief Sousa one, he requested with a smile that they all knew was too bright to be sincere at the moment, “Do you mind if I steal the groom away for a moment?”

Chief Sousa looked between him and Chief Thompson, then shrugged, gesturing them away before he took a drink. “Knock yourselves out.”

Edwin turned his smile to Chief Thompson and gestured the blond man away from his old partner, in fact leading him entirely outside of the fenced-in pool area before anything was said.

Chief Thompson stared down into his bourbon as they strolled, chin somehow still at a proud angle as he said slowly, “You’re filling the role of big brother, I presume.”

“Indeed,” Edwin drawled, surprised at the man’s perception.

The chief smirked at the liquid in his glass before he sniffed, took a drink, and declared, “I don’t have many female family members – my ma and my grandma is it, actually.”

“’Gam-Gam,’” Edwin recalled with an amused, if slightly disapproving, expression. “Miss Carter told me.”

Chief Thompson hummed, nodded, his mouth curving into a grim imitation of a smile. “My dad’s never been the best example of chivalry, Mr. Jarvis, I won’t lie – in public, sure, but not at home. But growing up like that, as you get older – as _I_ got older – I did learn some things about how to treat women from him. The older I got, the more I learned that _wasn’t_ how I wanted to be.”

“But it’s what you’re used to,” Edwin said, mercilessly frank. “That’s the habits you’ve formed, and I daresay that’s the sort of treatment you’ve long cultivated in regards to Miss Carter.” Surprisingly, Chief Thompson didn’t object – or say anything at all – so Edwin continued, “So you understand my concern, I’m sure.

“Chief Thompson, I know you think I’m practically useless, and certainly nowhere near your equal, and in many ways I’m sure you’re right. But make no mistake, there are ways that I can harm you, and have you harmed, that you would never see coming. I consider myself a great friend of Miss Carter’s, and we work together closely and frequently. If she is harmed – emotionally, mentally, physically, or otherwise – I will find out, I will know… and you will _pay_.” Edwin stopped, turning to look the other man in the eye with all seriousness. “Do I make myself clear, _Chief_?”

There. Edwin saw it in his eyes. With that one inflection, Jack understood what his proposed punishment would be – not necessarily from Jarvis, but from Howard Stark. The genius could tear his life apart if he felt like it, and make a demotion in the SSR the least of Jack’s problems.

Jack met his gaze just as steadily, with just as much steel in his blue eyes, and replied coolly, “Crystal.”

“Good.” Edwin nodded once and walked away.

* * *

Ana kept an eye on Chief Thompson and her husband as she delivered a second drink to Miss Carter, and when the two came back to the pool, she waved them over. Peggy stiffened as the chief neared, but Ana ignored that, resuming her seat by the agent as she asked the men, “Is everything all right?”

“Of course,” Edwin replied evenly.

But Ana had seen more than she let on, and asked Chief Thompson, “Are you sure? You look… pale.”

Peggy snorted as if she thought that was a stupid remark – and maybe it was – as she said, “Of course he does.”


	6. Chapter 6

“What were you talking about?” Ana asked bluntly.

Neither man answered, but Violet and Chief Sousa wandered over, both of them wearing telling smiles.

“I can tell you right now what they were discussing,” Chief Sousa announced.

“How?” Chief Thompson snapped at his former partner.

“Because I have a big brother too,” Violet said with a grin. “And the first time he and Daniel talked alone, Daniel came back looking like you do right now.”

Peggy stilled a second time, her gaze shooting to Mr. Jarvis in surprise, while the butler looked away, embarrassed at being caught onto so effortlessly. “Mr. Jarvis,” Peggy asked carefully. “Did you…”

When she trailed off, Chief Sousa said, “It needed done, Peggy.”

“Why?” Peggy and Chief Thompson asked together.

Daniel raised his eyebrows as he glanced between the two of them. “Because Jack’s… he’s Jack, and Jarvis… has better standards than Jack.”

“How so?” Jack demanded, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes.

“In how he treats women,” Daniel replied immediately.

“Just ‘women’?” Peggy asked a little pointedly. “I seem to remember him belittling you too.”

“Yeah,” Daniel acquiesced slowly, “Until I proved myself. Now we banter still, but it’s friendly these days.”

“Even when he’s punching you in the stomach for no apparent reason?” Peggy muttered.

Daniel snorted softly. “Even then.”

From his place on the sidelines, Jarvis muttered, “Good for you. It’s not that simple for a woman – like you said.”

Daniel opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, Jack broke in sharply with, “Can I ask just one question here, Carter? During the mess with Stark, when it looked like you were a spy, which one of your colleagues didn’t want to buy that – which one _didn’t_ buy it, in fact?” No one answered, and Jack shook his head, saying into the tension hanging between them all, “I’m not trying to hurt you, Carter, or scare you; I’m trying to _help_ you… but I guess you don’t have to believe that if you don’t want to.”

There was another long beat of silence before Jack snorted in disgust and walked away, snagging the rest of the bottle of bourbon as he went. He passed Rose as he stalked out, the woman approaching uncertainly as she said, “Peg? I’m going to go…”

“Of course, Rose,” Peggy replied, getting to her feet to say with a smile that didn’t meet her eyes, “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course.” Rose’s smile was, to the observant eye, nearly as false as Peggy’s as she added, “If there’s anything you need, you know you can always give me a call.”

“Thank you,” Peggy replied with a nod.

Then Rose was gone on her way, and Violet was saying, “I should go. I have a shift in an hour.”

“Do you want me to walk you home?” Daniel offered.

“Mm,” Violet pressed her lips together, glancing around before she said softly, “I think… I don’t know. Maybe Chief Thompson needs someone to talk to more than I do right now?”

Daniel sighed, saying, “We have been talking.”

“No, you’ve been chatting – keeping him occupied. Peggy has friends to talk to, right? Chief Thompson needs that too, I’d bet.” She searched her fiancé’s crestfallen face, requesting gently, “Go be his friend, Daniel.”

 “Why would anyone think I was Jack Thompson’s friend?” he asked, a thread of despair winding through his tone.

“Call it what you want,” Violet replied. “I’m only saying I think you’d be a good person for him to vent to. He knows you, he’s _comfortable_ with you, and he needs to talk too.” She shrugged. “That’s all.”

Daniel nodded, saying simply, “Okay,” before he gave her a goodbye kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you.” Violet smiled lovingly at him, and then she left.

Once she was gone, Daniel looked to Mr. Jarvis, asking a silent question like Peggy had seen him do a few times before in regards to her. _Can you take care of Peggy for me?_ Mr. Jarvis nodded almost unperceptively at him. _Of course._ Satisfied, Daniel shoved his free hand into his pocket and went in the same direction Jack had.

Peggy looked after him, thinking of his exchange with Violet. A realization hit her suddenly, and she muttered softly, “I gave that up.”

“Gave what up?” Ana asked, reaching out to gently rub her back.

Peggy frowned, struggling a little to explain what she’d seen. “A… partnership. He – Daniel – didn’t like her opinion, but he listened to it, took it into account, and agreed to do it – for her, even if he didn’t necessarily agree still. And he was respectful and _nice_ the whole time. He just _is_ respectful and nice. Marrying Jack…” she shook her head, her eyes on nothing in particular as she said, “I gave that up. I’ll never have that with Jack Thompson.”

“Are you sure?” Ana asked thoughtfully.

Behind the two women, Jarvis inhaled slowly, and Peggy let out a soft snort as she said wearily, “Yes.”

“I know I don’t really know him, Miss Carter,” Ana said slowly, watching her friend as she spoke thoughtfully. “But it seems to me like you’re not giving him much room to grow.”

“What?”

“It simply makes sense that he’s going to change,” Ana claimed. “At least _some._ Marriage changes people.”

“I thought marriage _didn’t_ change people. Besides that, this isn’t a marriage!” Peggy declared harshly. “That’s not the point of this! Really, this is nothing more than a rescue mission!”

“Very well. Why?”

Peggy had honestly forgotten that the butler was there, and she looked over her shoulder at him to ask for a second time, “What?”

Jarvis frowned, stepping forward to settle uncharacteristically at the poolside on Ana’s other side. He looked genuinely puzzled as he asked, “If love was not his motive –“

“-And it wasn’t-“

“-Then why? Why did he do this? Why… wed someone who so thoroughly grates on him?”

Peggy saw a great, wretched sort of irony in the answer she had to give. Almost miserably, she answered, “Thompson is first and foremost married to his work. He finally sees me as a good agent, and he doesn’t want me to be deported, thus taken away from the SSR. I’m valuable to him in that way – as a _subordinate_ –“ she had never before packed such venom into the word. “So he did what he had to so that I could stay on at the agency.”


	7. Chapter 7

“And you’re certain that’s his only motive?” Ana asked.

Peggy and Jarvis both looked at her sideways, and Peggy eventually inquired, “Do you think there’s more to it?” Maybe Ana was seeing something that she and Jarvis weren’t.

“I think that I’m as close to unbiased as you’re going to get.”

“But you are biased,” Jarvis pointed out. “You don’t really know Chief Thompson – thank God – but you do know Miss Carter; she’s your friend, and you want what’s best for her.”

“Of course I want her to be happy,” Ana smiled kindly at Peggy before looking to Edwin and saying, “Perhaps you have a point.” Her smile widened as she declared, “But if I _must_ have bias, then I will _choose_ to have hope.”

“I’m not sure that’ll help me much, Ana,” Peggy said miserably.

Ana frowned, giving the other woman a fierce hug whether or not she was the type to want it as she announced just as firmly, “Hope always helps everything.”

Without comment, Peggy merely allowed herself to burrow into the embrace.

* * *

“Didn’t I just see Violet leave?” Jack asked, casual even while his eyes swam with turmoil, lowering the bourbon bottle from his lips as Daniel approached.

“Yeah.”

“You shoulda taken her home,” Jack said gruffly, staring down his bourbon bottle.

Daniel smile dryly, replying slowly, “She… told me not to.”

“What?” Jack raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Daniel. “Are you two having trouble again?”

Daniel’s smile tightened, but he kept his tone civil as he replied, “No… she’s just… she’s a nurse, a healer; she sees a hard thing happening, and she’s trying to help the best way she knows how.”

“By leaving you here?”

“Yes, actually, because,” Daniel studied Jack as he spoke, trying to get a read on his thoughts, “She has this theory that you need to talk about what’s going on.”

Jack snorted, looking away again as he asked dryly, “What’s there to talk about?”

“You just got _married_.”

Jack winced. “To someone who doesn’t want it.”

“Do you want it?” Daniel asked, a little sharper than he’d meant to.

Jack shrugged. He’d had just enough time over the past day to think about what he was doing, all the things this marriage _could_ become, and he had started to realize he wasn’t sure how to answer that question anymore. “I want to help her. I never expected to be villainized for it.”

“I don’t think she’s trying to villainize you, Jack; I think she’s… she doesn’t think a certificate is going to change anything – and maybe it won’t. In which case, she’s married to an arrogant prick who doesn’t care about her as a person and already tries to do nothing more than order her around most of the time. Think of it from that perspective. Of course she’s scared. Scared, in her mind, I think, equals vulnerable – so her walls are going up farther than usual, because she’s trying to protect herself.”

Jack’s eyebrows drew together, and he finally met Daniel’s eyes again as he asked, “Do you really think she’s scared?”

“You said it yourself.”

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t think that she was actually… that _Carter_ …”

He trailed off, and Daniel smiled a little, dryly, because somewhere in there was an ironic sort of compliment. He asked Jack frankly, “Aren’t you scared – at least a little?”

Jack drew in a deep breath and didn’t answer – which was itself answer enough. “What do I do?” he asked instead, his tone flat, and maybe a little tight. “We got ourselves into this mess – Carter and I – so what do we do next?”

“You file the marriage certificate,” Daniel pointed out the obvious, snatching the bourbon away from Jack as he added, “And you don’t get drunk beforehand.”

“Then what?” Jack asked irritably.

“Then,” Daniel drawled thoughtfully. “If I’m hearing correctly, and you actually want this to work as a _marriage_ ,” and this he said with a healthy dose of incredulity to accompany the disbelief in his eyes.

“I don’t know what I want,” Jack broke in with a quick growl. “All I know is I don’t want to be one-upped in my own house.”

Daniel raised his eyebrows, smirking as he declared bluntly, “That is the very definition of your problems with Peggy Carter. Because you know she can be, and do, better than you; it bothers you, and that translates into anger that you take out on her.”

Jack glared darkly, demanding, “There had _better_ be a point to that spiel, Sousa.”

“My point is that if you want her on your side, as a friend, or more, or _whatever,_ you’re going to have to… to _get over_ yourself, really. See her as a partner, not a threat. She’s good at what she does. So are you. If you two could – and would – work together, you could make each other better than ever – and that can apply any way you want to take it. But first, for that to happen, you _both_ have to let your walls fall down.”

Daniel _visibly saw_ Jack’s expression shutter, and whatever he’d said wrong, the blond man was suddenly very much done with their conversation. “Thanks for the reminder,” he muttered, brushing past Daniel. “But you’re right – we gotta register the certificate before the Office of Immigration starts poking around again.”

Daniel followed Jack, asking him perceptively, and a little worriedly, “What reminder?”

 _No. No way._ There was no way Jack was going to tell Daniel that he’d “lowered his walls” around Carter _once_ , and told her his darkest secret. Then he’d turned around twice and, inadvertently or not, she’d been holding it over his head. And _that_ , too, was why he had trouble trusting her in any way. But that was _none_ of Sousa’s business.

“Drop it, Sousa,” he ordered sharply. “Me and _the wife_ –“ two words drenched in sarcasm. “Have somewhere we have to be.” By then, they’d reached Peggy and the Jarvises, and Daniel actually did drop the subject, so Jack asked Peggy, his irritation still in his tone, “You ready to go file the certificate?”

Peggy looked up at him, gently extracting herself from Mrs. Jarvis’s hug, and he saw her slide a resolute mask over the flickers of misery and fear that had been on her face. “Yes,” she nodded, standing and smoothing out her skirt. Tone firm and fearless, she declared, “Of course.”


	8. Chapter 8

Jack smiled grimly, absorbing just how _unshakable_ she suddenly seemed. But within that moment, he knew better – he’d _seen_ better. It had taken her a second to fix her mask – her _walls_ – in place, and in that moment he’d seen the truth plainly on her face. Sousa was right. She wasn’t just unhappy with this arrangement, she was afraid. _Of what? Marriage? Deportation, still? Of Jack himself? Surely not…_

Mrs. Jarvis must’ve noted Peggy’s hesitance, too, because she volunteered, “Would you like me to accompany you?”

Peggy turned that resolute smile onto her friend, replying, “No. Thank you, Ana – for everything. We wouldn’t have been able to do this without you.”

Mrs. Jarvis gave her an encouraging smile, even as Mr. Jarvis frowned and began to say, “Maybe I ought to drive y—“

“No, Mr. Jarvis,” Peggy said, her tone firmer this time.

Jack added levelly, “We’ll be fine, and we’ll be coming back by, anyway, I’d guess. For now, let’s just see about me and Carter having a drive alone, shall we?”

It was a rhetorical question, and as Mrs. Jarvis just nodded, Mr. Jarvis did the same and said, “Very well. But do remember what we discussed, Chief Thompson.”

Jack’s smile stayed firmly in place. “I’ll remember.”

Mr. Jarvis nodded again, stifling a sigh as he came to the conclusion that there was nothing else for him to do. Peggy took a deep breath and told Jack, “Let’s go, then. We’re going to start running out of time soon if we don’t file the certificate quickly.”

Without another word, Jack offered her his arm. She rolled her eyes, but took it as the two of them started back into the house. They stopped at the coat rack, and Jack doffed his hat before holding Peggy’s jacket out, as if to help her slide it on.

“Stop it,” she ordered crossly, making Jack raise his eyebrows in surprise. She snatched her jacket away from him and put it on alone, informing him, “You certainly don’t have to show off when it’s just you and I.”

“Show off?” Jack repeated, watching her position her hat atop her head. “It’s called being polite, Carter, and a gentleman.”

“And you are neither polite nor a gentleman,” she snapped, moving towards his car ahead of him.

Jack shook his head with a sigh, deciding against opening her car door before he climbed into the driver’s seat. They were in the road, silence stretching thick and gray between them, before Jack pointed out, “You know, you’re the one who asked me to marry you.”

“Do you think I _wanted_ to?!” she asked him incredulously.

“No,” Jack replied evenly. “I understand that. But you – we – did this anyway. So…”

“’So’ _what_ , Chief Thompson?” she asked, glaring witheringly.

He stared straight ahead, tamping down his own need to snap back at her as he replied, “So we’re stuck together; we might as well make the best of it.” _Or try to make it really work…_ But she was nowhere near ready to hear that, obviously, so he didn’t voice the thought.

She pushed, though – _this was still Peggy Carter_ , he thought dryly, _so of course she did_ – asking, “’Make the best of it’ how?”

He swallowed, shrugged, and let a beat of silence pass before he answered vaguely, “Anything would be better than this – than constant arguing – right?”

“Chief Thompson,” she asked, suddenly sounding very cautious – Jack caught himself swallowing convulsively- “What exactly are you trying to say?”

“I’m trying to say exactly what I just said,” he replied, keeping his eyes rigidly upon the road – because, really, he wasn’t exactly sure _what_ he was trying to say.

Peggy was staring at him, studying him, he noted via his periphery. Then her head suddenly snapped around and she was staring out the window, looking away from him as she muttered, “Very well, then.”

 _“Very well?” “Very well” what?_ Jack wondered, just a little frantically – but mostly he felt a thread of frustration wind its way through him again. Thus he set his teeth, and didn’t answer. The rest of the ride passed in silence.

Once they had filed the license, they still didn’t speak to one another unnecessarily until they were back in the car. Jack gripped the steering wheel, not even starting the vehicle yet as he declared quietly, “Well, I guess that’s done.”

“So it is,” Peggy replied, still choosing to look out the window as she employed the clipped tone she’d used with him all day.

And this was only the beginning, he realized. Hard and awkward as it had been, the wedding was only the tip of the iceberg. Now came the rest of their lives as man and wife – whatever that relationship ended up looking like. He took a deep breath, asking, “What now?”

“’What now?’” she repeated in confusion, as if she didn’t understand the question.

He smirked, not sure whether he should be irritated or self-depreciating he pointed out, “We only planned as far as filing the license –“ he couldn’t quite bring himself to call it the _marriage_ license that it was – “So, what do you think we should do now?”

“You already told the Mr. Jarvis and Ana that we would go back to Howard’s,” she noted.

“To Stark’s, then,” Jack muttered, starting the car and pulling out onto the road.

Peggy’s voice nearly startled him when she asked with a touch of curiosity in her tone, “Why did you tell them we’d come back?”

He was surprised that she hadn’t put that simple thing together – _she really must be a little out of it… with fear?_ – but he replied evenly, “Assuming you don’t want to stay with me, I’m dropping you off. If you _do_ want to stay with me, I figured you’d want to pick up clothes.”

She looked at him then, eyes blowing wide with fear, and then narrowing rapidly with sheer fury. He half expected her to whip a gun out on him – what he hadn’t expected was for her to slam on the brake from the passenger seat!

He swore, barely managing to swerve them out of the way of traffic before he yelled, “What are you – suicidal?”

“No!” she balked.

“Really?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?!”

“So I’ve been told,” she skulked hotly.

“’So you’ve been…?’ What’s the matter with you?!” he demanded incredulously.

“I’m getting out of this car,” she informed him simply. “And I am walking back to Howard’s.”

So saying, she climbed out of the car, slammed the door shut again, and started marching down the side of the road.

“What?” Jack breathed, thoroughly flummoxed as he watched her through the windshield. Swearing again out of sheer frustration, he pulled back onto the road, came up beside her, and cranked the window down on her side to order, “Get back in the car, Carter!”

“Not on your life.”

“Carter!”

She kept right on walking, declaring, ‘If I get back in that car, I won’t be held responsible for the state in which Chief Sousa finds your cooling _corpse_. Do you understand me, Chief Thompson?”

“No!” Jack cried in exasperation. “I don’t understand you at all!”

Carter rolled her eyes dismissively and kept right on walking. Thus they made their way back to Howard Stark’s mansion.

And thus their marriage began.

* * *

Watching the scene as Chief Thompson drove up Mr. Stark’s drive with Miss Carter stalking in front of the car, Edwin took a deep breath, declaring drolly, “Well, this ought to be…”

Peering out the window alongside him, Ana suggested, her tone much more brighter than his, “Interesting?”

“I was going to saw ‘awful.’”

She shot him a look insisting, “Interesting.”

“Very well,” he agreed for the sake of agreement, though they all knew his true thoughts on the matter. “This is going to be _interesting_.”

Looking back out the window, she remarked, “It’s certainly been an interesting beginning to a marriage.”

“But will it be a good marriage in twenty years?” he asked skeptically.

“I think it could be.”

As they watched, Chief Thompson pulled the car to a stop in front of the house and jumped out, dashing to grab Miss Carter’s wrist. To the blonde’s credit, he didn’t shout at his new wife, as Edwin had expected him to, but instead seemed almost… _entreating,_ despite the desperation and confusion that showed clearly on his face.

Miss Carter had pulled her arm away as quickly as he had grabbed it, but it was to _her_ credit that she didn’t slap Chief Thompson for touching her – which wouldn’t have surprised the butler.

Instead, they actually seemed to be _talking_ like normal people. _Amazing._

The chief asked her a question, she – rather haltingly – answered, and Chief Thompson shook his head fiercely. Whatever she’d been afraid of that had compelled her to leave his car, it apparently wasn’t something that the man was actually capable of, and as Edwin watched, he saw a near… softness start to encroach upon the edges of Jack Thompson’s expression. Slowly, warily, Miss Carter began to look as if she might even _believe him._

“Miracle of miracles,” Edwin murmured under his breath, and as he and Ana watched, Chief Thompson tugged his wife to sit on the steps of Mr. Stark’s house, and they began to talk. “You may just be right, my darling.”

“Of course I’m right,” she replied with a happy, airy sort of confidence that he thought she might well have been far from feeling only minutes ago.

She turned away to go take the laundry from the line, though, and Edwin left the window to start dinner preparations, and that was that.

Chief Thompson and Miss Carter continued to talk for _hours_ on Mr. Stark’s stoop, and they were left alone to do it.

And if maybe, at the end of the night, the newlyweds exchanged a kiss as they pulled out of the drive – together again, another in a quick succession of miracles – well, how was it Edwin’s place to remark upon it anyway?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended this very abruptly, I know, but for now the inspiration/muse for it has just flown out the window and disappeared. I'd like to think that I left it in such a way that I could pick it back up again if I ever DO want to continue the story, but for the moment, this looks like this is the end. I hope you liked it!


End file.
